Erika Girardi settled a $25-million bankruptcy lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court tied to money allegations from her ex-husband Tom Girardi’s now-defunct law firm, Girardi Keese.
Erika Girardi’s legal fight over money tied to her ex-husband’s failed law firm ended quietly Thursday in Los Angeles federal court, with a settlement worth $25 million in a bankruptcy case that had dragged on for years.
The lawsuit alleged that the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star and pop performer—known on stage as Erika Jayne—should have understood she was benefiting from embezzled funds connected to the sprawling case against former Los Angeles legal heavyweight Tom Girardi and his firm, Girardi Keese.
At the center of the allegations was the claim that the couple funneled “millions” from the law firm to support Erika’s music career. Court filings also described the spending gap: court records show she spent millions more than she made as a musician. while her chart-topping run in the 2010s featured raunchy dance club hits.
In a pretrial filing Monday, an attorney for the plaintiffs, Larry W. Gabriel, wrote that Erika and a company associated with her “received the benefit of [Tom] Girardi’s massive fraudulent scheme.”
Tom Girardi is currently serving a seven-year sentence in federal prison after he was convicted of wire fraud in 2024 for bilking personal-injury clients. He was found to have stolen tens of millions from his firm.
Erika’s defense, laid out in depositions used in the case, was that she had no knowledge of the crimes. She said she was unaware of where the money used for recording, merchandise, tours, and “fun, playful, and sparkly outfits” came from.
“I did not know how much I spent per month or per year,” Erika told investigators in one exchange. She also said, “Girardi Keese paid my Amex credit card bill every month.”
Monday’s filings added specific figures: Girardi Keese paid at least $14 million in charges to her American Express account between 2008 and 2020. The payouts, according to the record, began in the late 2000s when Erika, then a stay-at-home mom, sought to relaunch herself as a performer.
By 2016. near the height of her pop fame. the court record says Tom Girardi began complaining that she was charging too much to the account. After repeated requests aimed at curbing spending, Erika tried for the first time to check her balance. Soon after. she became suspicious that charges were being made to her card by a Hollywood costumer. worries she said she reported to one of Girardi Keese’s clients—an agent in the Secret Service.
The record says that, on the advice of the agent’s Secret Service colleagues, Erika disputed the AMEX charges and was refunded more than half a million dollars to her personal account, even though the original payments had come from the law firm.
Erika Girardi’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
For plaintiffs. the settlement brings closure to claims that her rise as an entertainer was financed by a fraud scheme tied to her ex-husband’s stolen client money. For Erika Girardi. the terms put an end to a case built on the question of whether she was willfully blind—or simply left to spend a lifestyle paid for through a firm she says she didn’t understand.
Erika Girardi Erika Jayne Tom Girardi Girardi Keese Real Housewives of Beverly Hills bankruptcy lawsuit settlement Los Angeles federal court wire fraud American Express
So basically she got paid and everyone just moves on? Wild.
Wait she settled for $25 million? I thought she was broke lol. Also “embezzled funds” from her ex makes it sound like she knew everything.
I don’t get the part where they’re saying she spent millions more than she made as a musician… like isn’t that what rich people do? But if Tom stole from clients then she might’ve benefited, idk. The headline says “quietly” so that’s probably why it feels shady to me.
This is why I don’t trust any of those “Real Housewives” money stories. They always act like it’s just shopping and outfits but then court stuff comes out. If she “didn’t know,” then why was there even a gap and who paid for the tours, like the lawyers? Sounds like everyone’s pointing fingers and she still ends up with a settlement anyway.